Paranormal Activity 2 (2010) Review

"We can't let this affect us that much.  If we do that, the terrorists win."

-Daniel Rey

A prequel to the first film, Paranormal Activity 2 follows the sister of Katie (Katie Featherston), Kristi (Sprague Grayden) and her family.  After their house is vandalized, Kristi's husband, Daniel (Brian Boland), has security cameras installed all around the house.  The cameras pick up strange activity and Kristi becomes worried that the evil presence from her past has returned and wants her son.

What Works:

The biggest improvement this sequel has over the original film is the characters.  Ali (Molly Ephraim) is really likable and Daniel is very funny.  He has a few moments where he's a jerk, but they all feel earned for the most part.  Kristi is mostly bland, but she isn't unlikable.  Katie and Micah (Micah Sloat) both return for a few scenes and even they aren't so bad this time around.  It's very refreshing to have characters to root for.

It takes a while for this movie to really get into the scares, but once it starts they don't stop.  The last half-hour of this movie is very intense.  The cabinets flying open, Abby the dog fighting with the demon, Kristi getting pulled into the basement, Daniel's desperate attempt to save his wife, and Katie's final raid are all awesome moments.  I was on the edge of my seat for the last half hour and the movie did not let up.

I actually really enjoy that this movie is mostly a prequel.  I really didn't know how this was going to end.  I felt like Katie would have mentioned if something bad had happened to her sister in the previous movie, but I didn't see a way for Kristi's family to get out of this.  It's really interesting that Daniel causes the demon to go after Katie instead of Kristi.  It's an compelling element that actually adds to the first film.

Finally, I want to go back to scene where all of the kitchen cabinets burst open to scare Kristi.  It's one of the best jump scares of all time and I have no idea how they did.  It's both impressive and terrifying.

What Sucks:

The first hour of the movie drags a bit and there is a ton of set up.  It takes a really long time for the scares to start, too long for a horror movie.

The first film started slow, but even the early moments in that film were at least unsettling, if not scary.  That isn't the case here.  They don't do enough with the scares.  It's nothing we haven't seen before and not very interesting.  The last half hour is great, but the first hour...not so much.

The three main characters each make one decision that is very stupid and frustrating.  Kristi's decisions to not talk about what is happening at least makes some sense, but it's still pretty aggravating.  Ali's terrible call to go outside makes no sense whatsoever and Daniel's decision to go to work when his wife is sick and his dog was just taken to the hospital is baffling and should have been set up more effectively.

Finally, the movie uses multiple nighttime cameras instead of just the one from the original.  That sounds great in theory, but they don't do enough with it.  The pool and the living room cameras felt especially underused.

Verdict:

While Paranormal Activity 2 has better characters than the first movie, an awesome third act, and some interesting elements, it's not as good as the original.  The movie takes way too long to get going, the scares in the first hour are lackluster, they don't do enough with the multiple cameras, and there are some very dumb character decisions.

 6/10: Okay